We are a people of questions, but perhaps certain types of questions directed at certain kinds of people diminish the safety of all of us. A modern liberal idea? MaNishtana thinks not; he explains that checking... people at the door is not something we Jews can or should recognize as traditional.See lessSee more

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Dear Weirdly Talented Orthodox Girls Last week, a video popped up on the internet featuring two orthodox girls rapping about Dor Yeshorim, a confidential matching service that provides the genetic compatibility of potential partners. Currently, that video has over 40,000 views on Youtube.

Rebecca S. Wax knows what it's like to feel unwelcome. "I have an Orthodox [Jewish] sister, 14 years older, and when I came out at 22 she brought me straight to the rabbi's wife," said Wax. "It was really scary. She said I would be sad and lonely my entire life, and I sat there and cried."

"Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter From a Birmingham Jail Dr. King's words sprang into my mind...

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Writer and Social Activist

A social activist and thought leader more by chance than choice, writer and speaker MaNishtana is one of a "growing cadre of incredibly talented Jewish leaders of Color" whose work takes prejudice, bias, and ignorance head on, relentless in the pursuit of truth by partnering with his audience to ask the questions about humanity, race, religion, and social injustice that we all have...and maybe are afraid to talk about. His humorous and often irreverent voice shatters the paradigms and misconceptions of Orthodox Judaism, American Jewish racial identity, and African-American religious identity, with presentations that deftly take the listener from ridiculous pop-culture ruminations to gut-punch insights on race, religion, and the failings of both in America.